Austin and Same-Sex Marriage!
I was pleased to learn last night that in Austin, our state capital, their City Council has unanimously passed a resolution endorsing marriage equality! (you can also read the resolution yourself at that link)
I normally hear such things through my own news feeds but this time I heard about it on Facebook:
I will never cease to be amazed at the narrowness of some people NOR the support from other people. Since I do not believe in any god or gods, I am not concerned with the imaginary verdict someone else’s god might pass down. Better to be an honest doubter than a blind believer.
Sadly, some people still believe their religious convictions should carry some weight in civil law. I don’t see how this could be, because America is a secular nation without reference to any god in our Constitution. What we DO find in the Constitution is religious freedom so that each person can invent whatever god they want to believe in, but the government cannot endorse or promote ANY god or any religion. ALL of our nation’s laws must have merit and standing on a secular basis, applying to all citizens and not just the ones of a particular faith.
In every state that has passed marriage equality, there is more than enough “religious liberty” written into it. No church can be forced to accept any marriage that violates their religious teachings, and no minister can be forced to officiate at a wedding that is contrary to their teachings. But no church or minister can say that a legally married couple is not legally married, and no church or minister can interfere with a married performed in some other church or by some other minister.
Even though the City of Austin has no immediate or direct influence on how the rest of the state is run, I am glad the Austin City Council has passed this resolution. It must be difficult living in a blue city in the middle of a red state, but times are changing.
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Also visit:
http://www.statesman.com/news/news/austin-city-council-endorses-same-sex-marriage/nSNpH/